LESSON PLAN ON SOIL USING THE FILM:

DIRT! THE MOVIE

Class – AP Environmental Science

SUBJECTS — Soils, sustainability and agriculture

MPAA Rating: NR; Documentary; 2009, 86 minutes; Color.

*One point of concern: a single bleeped out word*

DIRT! The Movie takes you inside the wonders of the soil. It tells the story of Earth’s most

valuable and underappreciated source of fertility–from its miraculous beginning to its

crippling degradation. It shows how humans have related to soils in the past, how we use

them now and the care that needs to be taken in order to receive their services in the future

Learner Outcomes/Objectives: Students will understand the issues that now face our

soils from a growing population and the industrialization of our food systems. They will also

learn various ways in which we can help protect this valuable resource.

Rationale: Without healthy soils, the entire world population will suffer hunger, drought,

conflict and mal-nutrition. Although we have developed industrial agriculture that has fed a

majority of the world, we have also seen the very dramatic negative effects on the planets

soil, groundwater and human health that it can have. This documentary introduces some of

the world’s leaders in soil research and sustainability.

The video supplements the multiple soil labs that are a keystone piece to the agriculture

curriculum for AP Environmental Science. It helps support, with real world examples and

proponents, many of the topics that they will come across both in class and on the AP exam.